This invention relates to the aggregation of particles and in the most important example to the agglutination of biological cells through immuno-agglutination or otherwise.
It is well known that agglutination of cells in the presence of an antigen can form a useful assay technique. A commonly used screening test for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) involves viral agglutination of specified erythrocytes coated with an antibody to the Hepatitis B surface antigen. The presence of antigen is confirmed by agglutination within 60 minutes, with agglutination being typically detected from the visual appearance of samples in a microwell plate.
There is a particular need for an HBV screening test that can be conducted very rapidly. In hospitals, for example, the time taken to complete an HBV screening on a newly admitted patient using presently known methods can significantly delay emergency surgery.
It is accordingly one object of this invention to provide a method of monitoring aggregation which can be used in haemagglutination or other tests to shorten the time taken to obtain a reliable result.